Consumer spending fell in early August, according to preliminary results from the University of Michigan’s survey. July retail sales were down, and the average price of gas is nearing a record high for August. In today’s episode, we look at how consumers could be cutting discretionary spending as a result. Also, we’ll look at why China’s economy may be in trouble, the value of GDP as a statistic, fake business registrations in Colorado, Reddit joining the S&amp;P 500, and the global plastics industry. Every story has an economic angle. Want some in your inbox? Subscribe to our daily or weekly newsletter. Marketplace is more than a radio show. Check out our original reporting and financial literacy content at marketplace.org — and consider making an investment in our future. Read the stories in today’s episode: Is the consumer engine of the economy starting to slow down? Is China&#x27;s economy in trouble? Why we still use GDP to measure economic growth Getting weird mail? In Colorado, it could be business fraud Popular online forum Reddit is joining the S&amp;P 500 Middle East conflict raises U.S. plastic industry&#x27;s sinking ship

Consumer sentiment takes a tumble

Marketplace

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[SPEAKER_B] It is a data kind of day today. Ours, China's, and then how we measure things. From American Public Media, this is Marketplace. In Los Angeles, I'm Kai Ryssdal. It is Monday, today, the 17th of August. Good as it always is to have you along, everybody. Well, here we are, deep into summer. Labor Day sales are practically around the corner. Back-to-school shopping is either happening or done, depending on when school starts wherever you are. This is true. I saw a Halloween display at my local hardware store this weekend. And do not blink, because retailers are going to start hitting us with Black Friday and then holiday sales any day now. A passing familiarity with the way this economy works will tell you that the common theme through all of the above is the American consumer. How we're feeling, how we're doing, what we're spending, and what we can afford. As we learned last week, consumer sentiment fell in the early part of the month for the first time in 3 months. Retail sales— we told you this— they were down in July. And oh, by the way, the average price of a gallon of regular gas is $4.06.

Consumer sentiment takes a tumble

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.

Consumer sentiment takes a tumble

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast, not the earnings call.

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.